AlefEdge squeaks in new funding for mobile edge PaaS under the COVID-19 wire

Alef Edge Inc., the software-defined mobile edge startup, was able to close a Series B round of funding just as the full import of COVID-19 became apparent nationwide.

AlefEdge (as the company refers to itself) develops software to enable the programming of edge computing services. “We’re a software company supporting hardware-as-a-service,” Ganesh Sundaram said to Edge IR in an interview in April.

Executives have released scant information about the round other than to say it closed in April, and increased the total amount of money raised to “close to” $40 million. It is not known who led or participated in the latest round.

CrunchBase records seven rounds total, but two rounds, last month’s and a seed round in 2013, do not have deal totals. Excepting those rounds, the financial publisher credits AlefEdge with having raised $25 million as of 2018.

It is known that Tata Capital led a 2016 $5 million round. Tata participated in two other rounds. Redwood Technology Ventures, Select Venture Partners, and Redwood Venture Partners also participated in those rounds.

Two of its three subsidiaries, Alef Mobitech Solutions Pvt. Ltd. and Alef Mobitech Pvt Ltd., are based in India. The company also has a joint venture, Alef Mobitech Brazil. All told the company has over 75 employees in the U.S., India, and Brazil.

AlefEdge executives in early April said they will launch the company’s first edge solution, a real-time targeted advertising service, on Microsoft Corp.’s Azure cloud service.

Analyst Perspective

“The Edge is a critical and complex piece for delivering on the promises of a 5G world – in fact, 5G is not possible without an Edge computing architecture. AlefEdge understands this and the ease-of-use approach of its technology helps developers and end-users unlock the network’s potential.”

Iain Gillott, president and founder of iGR, a market research consultancy, in a prepared statement from AlefEdge